Under Your Scars (Under Your Scars, #1)

by Ariel N. Anderson

I, Christian Thomas Reeves, being of unsound mind and a broken spirit, declare this my last will and testament, as well as a goodbye.

So, I’m forced to overlook Neil Hayden’s clear distaste for me and pretend I don’t notice his extra-long pinky fingernail or the way he’s always sniffling when he comes back from the bathroom.

Well then

My father insisted when I moved halfway across the country for school that I always carry some sort of protection with me. He lost his first family—a wife and two daughters—to a lunatic with a gun, and he’s very protective of my brother and me.

Omg!

can hear them cackling and whooping behind me, and my heart sinks into my stomach. My conscience tells me to run. So I run. Receipts, tampons, and lip-gloss fall out of my bag as I do, leaving a convenient trail for the three men to follow.

Breadcrumb trail ??

The Meridian City Silencer.

Ok I like the name

The sharp metallic smell of blood taints my senses as the warm liquid on his fingers smears across my cheek. I’m letting out panicked breaths, and I cower away from him best I can when he leans forward and whispers into my ear. “Shut up and take me to your apartment.”

How about not

He leans closer to me, lifting a gloved finger to lightly touch my chin. “Everything that happens to you is a big deal. Say the word, and I’ll take care of him.” “No! God, what is wrong with you? Neil Hayden being a dickhead isn’t grounds for murder.”

Well that escalated quite fast

Tears slide down the sides of my face, disappearing into my hairline. “Are you scared?” I start nodding before he finishes his question. I see the corners of his eyes crinkle as he lets out a low chuckle. “I promise, I’m the one thing in this city you never have to be afraid of.”

“I wanted to see the face of the man who saved me,” I say cautiously. He gives me a dangerous glare and goes completely still. I gulp, because I can just see it in the tension of his shoulders that I’ve crossed a line I shouldn’t have touched with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole. “You’ve got it backwards, angel.” Before I have a chance to ask him what he means, he lets go of me and leaves my apartment so fast I’m not sure he’s even human.

There’s also a Starbucks in the downstairs lobby, and each employee at the R.E. headquarters gets credit for one free drink per month, but Neil always steals it. Yes, he steals it. Will swipe it right off my desk. Doesn’t matter what’s in the cup, he steals my coffee because he lives off my misery.

Ok but seriously what is up with this guy

I’m not even sure why he hates me. I’m not totally incompetent when it comes to my duties here. My best guess is it’s because I’m not fun to look at. I’ve got as much curve as a two by four, and the sex appeal of a plastic bag.

Fair enough

Christian Reeves is standing before me in a well-tailored gray suit and a black turtleneck. The Christian Reeves, as in, the man who owns Meridian City and whose name is plastered on the side of the building I’m standing in. The Christian Reeves as in, the CEO. The Christian Reeves as in, the richest man on the goddamn planet.

Is he the Silencer!?!?

“I think the three of us should take this discussion to your office, Mr. Hayden,” he says to Neil, though his eyes are fixated on me. “The three of us?” Neil asks with an eyebrow raised. “I don’t believe I stuttered,” Christian says, giving him a threatening glare that has Neil shrinking in his shoes. Neil leads the three of us to his office, and in a gentlemanly fashion, Christian holds the door open for me.

Oh shiiiiiit! He MUST be the Silencer

“You’re crazy!” Neil whimpers against his desk. “Call the police if you want. But I can make or break your career. You piss me off, and all it takes is a few phone calls to have you blacklisted from the legal field in under an hour. If you want to keep your seven-figure salary, I suggest you do what I say, keep your mouth shut, and start treating Ms. Young with a little respect. Clear?”

Well then

Neil’s nostrils flare and he points at me, but I cut him off. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m fired.” I move to stomp my way out of the room, but gentle, calloused fingers wrap around my tiny wrist, and I freeze. Christian is examining my hand like it’s the prettiest thing he’s ever seen. “No,” he purrs, as if he’s seducing the inside of my wrist. He looks up at me like a puppy and it makes me want to fall to my knees. He moves his eyes slowly to Neil, still fuming at his desk as Christian’s gaze darkens, and the entire room crackles with tension. “She’s not fired. You are.” Neil’s mouth falls open, and for the second time, so does mine.

“That’s one finger,” Christian says, taking a sip of his coffee. I look back down at the watch just as it passes the twelve again. “It passed.” “Two. Better hurry, Mr. Hayden, or I’ll have to move on to toes.” “You’ve got to be shitting me!” Neil says. “You can’t do this!” “I own this company, I assure you, I can do whatever the hell I want, and what I want is you off of my payroll.”

Why is Neil still sitting there omg

“I don’t understand why you’d do something like that for a nobody like me.” His answer is immediate, like it’s been rehearsed. “You’re so much more than a nobody, Elena.”

One thousand dollars. He tipped me one thousand dollars for…whatever the hell we did tonight. Rich people are nuts. I wonder if the richest man in the world even knows other denominations of bills exist, or if he’s only ever seen Benjamins. The latter wouldn’t surprise me.

“Do you think I could come too? I’ve always wanted to see it in person.” “You don’t even have to ask. I’d be lost without you by my side. In fact, I’d like to promote you. Since you no longer have a supervising attorney, I’d like you to be my personal secretary instead,” Christian suggests casually, as if his words didn’t just sucker punch me square in the mouth. I’d be lost without you by my side.

His eyes go back to that stunning shade of light blue, and he smiles. “Great. Perfect. I’d like to visit the orphanage within the next week or two, do you think that’s enough time to plan everything?”

Light blue.... The Silencer has green...contacts?

“It’s so pretty up here you might forget how terrible this city is.” I don’t particularly expect an answer. Just an observation. “It’s not so bad, I think.” I turn my head to look at him. “Maybe not up here from this ivory tower, but people like you and people like me see this city differently for a reason.” I rub my fingers together to emphasize that I’m talking about money, and how he’s jaded from it. “I see a lot more than you think I do,” he says, and then we both look out over the city for a long time.

When I get back downstairs to my desk, I find an instant message request from Christian’s work email to my own. Christian Reeves: If you change your mind, I’ll be waiting in the lobby at 5 PM.

“Did he, now?” He hums in amusement. He grips the flesh of my thighs harshly, tugging me a little closer to him. “He could give you everything, you know. Treat you like a goddess. You deserve nothing less.”

“That’s why I call you angel,” he admits, so quietly it feels like he’s confessing to a horrific crime.

“It’s in case you ever need help,” he explains. I lift the chain to examine it. “The charm attached is a silent panic alarm. You turn it on by clicking it five times. You’ll feel it vibrate, and it will send me an alert with your exact location. If you press it, I’ll come. No matter what.”

“I’m going to figure out who you are under there.” I tap his mask. “I don’t just mean your name.” “What will you do once you know who I am?”

His gaze goes dark with fury, and that’s when I notice something odd about his eyes. A soft film of green overlaps his dark pupils. He’s wearing colored contacts.

I fucking knew it!!

He looks like he’s gone completely feral, and I begin to shake under his intense gaze. He grinds his teeth, his words dripping in pure venom. “I want names, Elena.”

“They need to know what happens when they touch what’s mine, Elena. They’re going to convert religions, because they won’t be praying to God, they’ll be praying to me. Begging for my fucking mercy after I hunt them all down and show them the true meaning of fear.”

“I don’t want to be the reason you lose your humanity.” He rubs my bottom lip with his gloved hand. “If you’re so concerned about my humanity, Elena, then reach into my soul and find it, because I’m not sure I have any left.”

I like taking my time with my victims. I enjoy the hunt just as much as I enjoy watching the life leave their eyes after I listen to them beg me for mercy. ​I love making them feel helpless, like I felt all those years ago.

What happened ??

The bullet lands dead over my heart, crumples against my chest, and falls with a clink to the floor. Can’t remember the last time someone had the balls to shoot me. Respect.

“My angel told me that Valenti made her work naked, and you assholes touched her all night. That was a big fucking mistake on your part. Elena is mine. Mine to scare. Mine to chase. Mine to touch.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take you home.” I can’t help it, I scoff. He raises an eyebrow in confusion. “A guy like you will get robbed in my neighborhood.” He smiles and sets down the wine bottle, handing me a plastic fork. “I can take care of myself, Elena.”

“You’re calling me a hero when the only person worthy of that title is you.” “Me?” I ask, so off guard that I scoff. “Are you sick? Do you even hear yourself? What have I ever done?” “More than you could ever possibly know.” My heart thumps so hard in my chest that I’m sure he can feel it where our hands are connected.

She tugs me closer and cups her hand around my ear as if to tell me a secret, and she very loudly whispers, “Mr. Reeves thinks you’re pretty too, ‘cause he won’t stop looking at you.”

“You have to promise me that you won’t hurt Christian Reeves. Ever. I like him. I don’t want to wake up one morning to see that you murdered him because you’re jealous I’d rather fuck him than you.”

Mic drop

“I stabbed myself in the arm and waited for you to find me, and I forced you to help me.” “You’re fucking insane,” I mumble, trying to find any rational thought in my brain.

“I’ve never been in a relationship. I can’t promise it will always be easy, but I can promise that I’ll always try to be the best version of myself for you.” Another chaste kiss, this time he keeps his lips ghosting over mine when he breaks it. “That’s why.”

Christian Reeves doesn’t know how fucking lucky he is to have Elena and all of her affections.

Whhhhaaat!? Sooooo Christian isn't f the Silencer??? Nooo stop

I’ve been in this city for five years, and suddenly, I have a stalker who happens to be a serial killer and a boyfriend who happens to be the richest man on the planet. Oh, also can’t forget that I started working at a shady nightclub where the owner sees me as nothing but a price tag.

Why are earth do you still work there?? I think she likes it

“God, you’re so fucking wet, angel.”

He IS the Silencer!!!!!

“When we went to the orphanage…there was an out of place slab of concrete in the rose garden. That’s where they died, isn’t it? That’s why you chose to build it there.” Christian looks down, and nods. I sigh apologetically and stroke his cheek with my thumb. “I’m so sorry.”

“I think if two people are meant to be together, then they will be. I don’t know if that makes them soulmates though. I feel like a soulmate implies some sort of…divine intervention. I think the best love stories come from the people who say that love came out of nowhere for them, not from the people who were looking for love in the first place.” I squeeze his hand in mine. “Do you believe in soulmates?” The corner of his mouth tilts into a smile. “Not until I found you.”

“Elena, let me be very clear.” He stands up and leans against the desk, and then rubs his thumb over my cheek while I look up at him. “I will never, ever deny you anything. I don’t give a fuck how much it costs. You can buy the entire Chanel catalog and I wouldn’t bat an eye.

Damn ok

“Ellie, if you don’t think I’m going to spoil you rotten you are sorely mistaken.”

“I find it so hard to believe you’ve never been in a relationship when you always know the right things to say.” “I think I was saving all the charm for you.”

“Elena, talk about something. Distract me so I don’t go back in there and break his neck,”

Okay edward

“You’re the mistake.” His voice was so quiet, I don’t think he meant for me to hear it, and with that, any hope I had of him being my future shatters.

Im so lost right now

“He didn’t mean it,” I mumble into her hair. “Why are you defending him? You’re supposed to be on my side!” “He wasn’t talking about you. I’d bet my life on it.”

Omfg enough already